Systems and methods for providing dynamically selected media content items

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media can identify a set of media content items associated with a first user of a social networking system. It can be determined that a second user of the social networking system is attempting to access at least a portion of the set of media content items associated with the first user. A first subset of media content items can be dynamically selected out of the set of media content items. In some cases, each media content item in the first subset can satisfy specified selection criteria. The second user can be provided with access to a representation of the first subset of media content items. In some instances, the representation of the first subset can be provided in a media access interface associated with the first user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/476,567, filed on Sep. 3, 2014 and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORPROVIDING DYNAMICALLY SELECTED MEDIA CONTENT ITEMS”, which isincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present technology relates to the field of providing content. Moreparticularly, the present technology relates to techniques for providingdynamically selected media content items.

BACKGROUND

Today, people often utilize computing devices (or systems) for a widevariety of purposes. Users can use their computing devices to, forexample, interact with one another, access content, share content, andcreate content. In some cases, a user of a social networking system (orservice) can utilize his or her computing device to create and postmedia content items, such as images, videos, audio, and text. Underconventional approaches, access to the media content items can beprovided via a profile page of the user. For example, image contentitems can be presented in a particular section of the profile page ofthe user. The user's connections or friends within the social networkingsystem can access, view, or interact with the user's posted imagecontent items or other media content items, as long as the user'sprivacy settings allow so.

Under conventional approaches, media content items associated with theuser are generally provided in an uninteresting or inefficient manner.For example, conventional approaches generally present and organizeimage content items posted by or tagged with the user in a predictableor static manner. As such, conventional approaches can create challengesfor or reduce the overall user experience associated with using thesocial networking system.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments of the present disclosure can include systems,methods, and non-transitory computer readable media configured toidentify a set of media content items associated with a first user of asocial networking system. It can be determined that a second user of thesocial networking system is attempting to access at least a portion ofthe set of media content items associated with the first user. A firstsubset of media content items can be dynamically selected out of the setof media content items. In some cases, each media content item in thefirst subset can satisfy specified selection criteria. The second usercan be provided with access to a representation of the first subset ofmedia content items. In some instances, the representation of the firstsubset can be provided in a media access interface associated with thefirst user.

In an embodiment, it can be determined that at least a second subset ofmedia content items, out of the set of media content items, fails tosatisfy the specified selection criteria. It can be determined that theat least the second subset is accessible to the second user based on oneor more privacy settings of the first user. The second user can beprovided with access to a representation of the second subset of mediacontent items. In some cases, the representation of the first subset canbe provided at a first position in the media access interface associatedwith the first user. The representation of the second subset can beprovided at a second position in the media access interface. The secondposition can be lower in positional priority than the first position.

In an embodiment, it can be determined that at least a third subset ofmedia content items, out of the set of media content items, fails tosatisfy the specified selection criteria. It can be determined that theat least the third subset is accessible to the second user based on theone or more privacy settings of the first user. The second user can beprovided with access to a representation of the third subset of mediacontent items. In some cases, the representation of the third subset canbe provided at a third position in the media access interface. The thirdposition can be lower in positional priority than the second position.

In an embodiment, each of the second subset and the third subset can beassociated with to at least one of a story, a post, an event, or analbum.

In an embodiment, the first position can be vertically higher than thesecond position, the second position can be vertically higher than thethird position, and the second subset can be associated with a morerecent time frame than the third subset.

In an embodiment, a vertical scroll element can be provided fornavigating among at least the representation of the first subset, therepresentation of the second subset, and the representation of the thirdsubset. In some instances, a first scroll element position in thevertical scroll element can correspond to the first position in themedia access interface, a second scroll element position in the verticalscroll element can correspond to the second position in the media accessinterface, and a third scroll element position in the vertical scrollelement can correspond to the third position in the media accessinterface. A first title can be provided, for the first subset, at thefirst scroll element position. A second title can be provided, for thesecond subset, at the second scroll element position. A third title canbe provided, for the third subset, at the third scroll element position.

In an embodiment, information about at least one of the first user, thesecond user, or the set of media content items can be acquired. Theinformation can include at least one of an image classification appliedto at least a portion of the first subset or social graph dataassociated with the at least one of the first user, the second user, orthe set of media content items. In some cases, the selection criteriacan be based on the information.

In an embodiment, an interaction initiated by the second user withrespect to the representation of the first subset can be received. Itcan be determined that an entirety of the first subset is accessible tothe second user based on one or more privacy settings of the first user.The second user can be provided with access to the entirety of the firstsubset subsequent to the receiving of the interaction. Information aboutthe first subset can be provided. In some instances, the information caninclude at least one of a set of time frames associated with the firstsubset, a set of users associated with the first subset, or a set oflocations associated with the first subset.

In an embodiment, a map can be provided in the media access interfaceassociated with the first user. A location associated with at least onemedia content item in the first subset can be determined. The locationcan be provided on the map.

In an embodiment, the first user and the second user can be a same userof the social networking system. The selection criteria can specify thateach media content item in the first subset is to at least meet athreshold level of relevance with respect to the first user.

In an embodiment, the threshold level of relevance can be determinedbased on at least one of a relationship of the first user, a connectionof the first user, an interest of the first user, an event associatedwith the first user, an interaction associated with the first user, or apost provided by the first user.

In an embodiment, the first user and the second user can be differentusers of the social networking system. The first user and the seconduser can be directly connected in the social networking system. Theselection criteria can specify that each media content item in the firstsubset is to be associated with both the first user and the second user.

In an embodiment, each media content item in the first subset cancorrespond to at least one of a media content item provided by the firstuser and that has a tag of the second user, a media content itemprovided by the second user and that has a tag of the first user, or amedia content item that has the tag of the first user and the tag of thesecond user.

In an embodiment, the first user and the second user can be differentusers of the social networking system. The first user and the seconduser can be indirectly connected via at least one common connection inthe social networking system. The selection criteria can specify thateach media content item in the first subset is to be associated withboth the first user and the at least one common connection.

In an embodiment, each media content item in the first subset cancorrespond to at least one of a media content item provided by the firstuser and that has a tag of the at least one common connection, a mediacontent item provided by the at least one common connection and that hasa tag of the first user, or a media content item that has the tag of thefirst user and the tag of the at least one common connection.

In an embodiment, information associated with the first subset can beprovided. In some cases, the information can include at least one a setof time frames associated with the first subset, a set of time locationsassociated with the first subset, or a set of users associated with thefirst subset.

In an embodiment, it can be determined that the second user of thesocial networking system is attempting to interact with a third user inthe set of users associated with the first subset. A media accessinterface associated with the third user can be provided. A graphicalelement can be provided to navigate to a first time frame in the set oftime frames associated with the first subset. A second time frame in themedia access interface associated with the third user can be navigatedto. The second time frame can be within an allowable time deviation fromthe first time frame.

Many other features and embodiments of the invention will be apparentfrom the accompanying drawings and from the following detaileddescription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system including an example content accessmodule configured to facilitate providing dynamically selected mediacontent items, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example dynamic subset selection module configuredto facilitate providing dynamically selected media content items,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example social graph associated with providingdynamically selected media content items, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 4A illustrates an example screenshot associated with providingdynamically selected media content items, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 4B illustrates an example screenshot associated with providingdynamically selected media content items, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example screenshot associated with providingdynamically selected media content items, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example screenshot associated with providingdynamically selected media content items, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example screenshot associated with providingdynamically selected media content items, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example method associated with providingdynamically selected media content items, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a network diagram of an example system that can beutilized in various scenarios, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a computer system that can be utilizedin various scenarios, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

The figures depict various embodiments of the disclosed technology forpurposes of illustration only, wherein the figures use like referencenumerals to identify like elements. One skilled in the art will readilyrecognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments ofthe structures and methods illustrated in the figures can be employedwithout departing from the principles of the disclosed technologydescribed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Providing Dynamically Selected Media Content Items

People use social networking systems (or services) for various purposes.Users of a social networking system can utilize their computing devices(or systems) to establish connections, communicate, and interact withone another via the social networking system. Users can also provide,edit, share, or access media content items such as pictures, videos,audio, and text. In one example, a user of the social networking servicecan post or publish image content items, which can be presented on aprofile page of the user, such as on a timeline which includes one ormore collections of image content items associated with the user. Theuser's social connections, for example, can access, view, or interactwith such image content items posted on the profile page (e.g.,timeline) of the user, as long as the user's privacy settings allow so.

Conventional approaches generally provide access to media content itemsassociated with the user in an uninteresting manner. In one example,different users who attempt to view the user's media content items canbe presented with the same media content items depending on the user'sprivacy settings. As such, conventional approaches to providing accessto media content items can be predictable and static. Furthermore,conventional approaches can provide access to media content items in aninefficient manner. For example, under conventional approaches, mediacontent items provided or uploaded by the user can be stored, organized,and presented separately from media content items in which or with whichthe user is tagged. This can create challenges for searching or browsingthrough the media content items.

Therefore, an improved approach to providing access to media contentitems can be beneficial for addressing or alleviating various concernsassociated with conventional approaches. Various embodiments of thepresent disclosure can dynamically select content based on relevancy,content, and/or other selection criteria. Access to the dynamicallyselected content can be provided. In one example, a friend of the usercan attempt to access the user's images and can be presented with mediacontent items that are associated with both the friend and the user. Inanother example, another user indirectly connected to the user via amutual friend can attempt to access the user's images and can bepresented with media content items that are associated with both themutual friend and the user. It is contemplated that many other uses,applications, and/or variations are possible.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 100 including an example contentaccess module 102 configured to facilitate providing dynamicallyselected media content items, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the example content access module 102can include a content identification module 104, a dynamic subsetselection module 106, an image classification module 108, and a socialgraph module 110. The example system 100 can also include at least onedata store 112.

The content identification module 104 can be configured to identify aset of media content items associated with a first user of a socialnetworking system. The set of media content item can include, but is notlimited to, images, videos, audio, and/or text associated with the firstuser of the social networking system. The set of media content item canbe associated with the first user in that the media content items can beprovided by the first user and/or the first user can be tagged with themedia content items. For example, the set of media content items caninclude all images and videos uploaded or posted by the first user. Theset of media content items can also include all images and videos inwhich the first user is tagged. The set of media content items canfurther include all images and videos for which the first user is taggedas being “with”, such as content posted by a posting user who tagged thefirst user as being with the posted content, with the posting user atthe time the content was created, and/or with the posting user at thetime the content was posted, etc.

In some implementations, the set of media content items and/or one ormore specified subsets of the set can be accessible to users other thanthe first user based on one or more settings of the first user, such asprivacy settings. For example, the first user can set the settings tospecify that only the first user's social connections or friends withinthe social networking system can access or view the set of media contentitems and/or the one or more specified subsets. In another example, thesettings can specify that only particular users can access particularmedia content items associated with the first user. Many variations arepossible.

In some embodiments, the content access module 102 can be configured todetermine that a second user of the social networking system isattempting to access at least a portion of the set of media contentitems associated with the first user. For example, the content accessmodule 102 can detect or receive a command from the second user toaccess at least some of the first user's media content items. In someimplementations, the set of media content items associated with thefirst user can be provided via a media access interface associated withthe first user. In some cases, the media access interface can beprovided via a profile or timeline of the first user. The content accessmodule 102 can detect an interaction or command (e.g., a click, a tap,etc.) from the second user to access one or more of the first user'smedia content items via the media access interface.

Moreover, the dynamic subset selection module 106 can be configured todynamically select a first subset of media content items out of the setof media content items. Each media content item in the first subset canbe selected to be a media content item that satisfies specifiedselection criteria. The selection of the first subset can be dynamic inthat the selection criteria can be modified or adjusted dynamically. Insome cases, the dynamic modifying or adjusting of the selection criteriacan be based on information associated with at least one of the firstuser, the second user, and/or at least a portion of the set of mediacontent items. The dynamic subset selection module will be discussed inmore detail below.

The content access module 102 can be configured to provide the seconduser with access to a representation of the first subset of mediacontent items. The representation of the first subset can be provided,for example, in the media access interface associated with the firstuser. In some cases, the representation of the first subset can includea summary, a highlight, and/or a preview of the first subset of mediacontent items.

As discussed, in some embodiments, the selection criteria can beadjusted (or modified) dynamically, which can be based on informationassociated with at least one of the first user, the second user, or atleast a portion of the set of media content items. The imageclassification module 108 can be configured to acquire at least some ofthe information. In some cases, the information can be based on imageclassification applied to the at least the portion of the set of mediacontent items, such as to one or more media content items in the firstsubset. In some implementations, the information as well as other datacan be stored and acquired from the at least one data store 112.

In some embodiments, classification analysis can be performed on contentitems by the image classification module 108 to determine theirpotential relevance with a particular subject, topic, and/or theme. Theclassification analysis can be based on myriad techniques, for example.Content items constituting or including images or text can be analyzedand classified based on any suitable processing technique. For example,an image classification technique can gather contextual cues for asample set of images and use the contextual cues to generate a trainingset of images. The training set of images can be used to train aclassifier to generate visual pattern templates of an image class. Theclassifier can score an evaluation set of images based on correlationwith the visual pattern templates. The highest scoring images of theevaluation set of images can be deemed to be mostly closely related tothe image class. As another example, a hint detection technique caninclude natural language processing (NLP) to assist in identifying hintsin comments associated with an image. The NLP-based hint detectiontechnique can identify, based at least in part on natural languageprocessing, one or more tokens in a comment that can assist indetermining the subject matter of an image. Other suitable techniquesare possible.

Moreover, the social graph module 110 can also be configured to acquireat least some of the information associated with the at least one of thefirst user, the second user, or the at least the portion of the set ofmedia content items. In some cases, the information can include socialgraph data associated with the at least one of the first user, thesecond user, or the at least the portion of set of media content items.In some implementations, the information as well as other data can bestored and acquired from the at least one data store 112. More detailsrelated to social graphs will be discussed below.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example dynamic subset selection module 202configured to facilitate providing dynamically selected media contentitems, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In someembodiments, the dynamic subset selection module 102 of FIG. 1 can beimplemented as the dynamic subset selection module 202. As shown in theexample of FIG. 2, the dynamic subset selection module 202 can include arelevance module 204, a direction connection module 206, and an indirectconnection module 208.

As discussed above, it can be determined that a second user of a socialnetworking system is attempting to access at least a portion of a set ofmedia content items associated with a first user. The dynamic subsetselection module 202 can be configured to facilitate dynamicallyselecting a first subset of media content items out of the set of mediacontent items. Each media content item selected to be included in thefirst subset can satisfy specified selection criteria.

In some instances, the first user and the second user can be a same userof the social networking system. For example, it can be determined thatthe first user is attempting to access his or her own media contentitems. Accordingly, the relevance module 204 can dynamically adjust theselection criteria to specify that each media content item selected tobe included in the first subset of media content items should at leastmeet a threshold level of relevance with respect to the first user.

In some embodiments, the relevance module 204 can also be configured todetermine the threshold level of relevance. The threshold level ofrelevance can be determined, for example, based on at least one of arelationship of the first user, a connection of the first user, aninterest of the first user, an event associated with the first user, aninteraction associated with the first user, or a post provided by thefirst user. In some cases, at least some of the information related torelationships of the first user, connections of the first user,interests of the first user, events associated with the first user,interactions associated with the first user, and/or posts provided bythe first user can be acquired or determined based on social graph data.Furthermore, in some cases, at least some of the information can beacquired or determined based on image classification of at least somemedia content items.

In one example, the selection criteria can specify that the thresholdlevel of relevance for image content items is met when the image contentitems are associated with (e.g., provided by and/or tagged with, etc.)the first user and a user with whom the first user is in a relationship.In another example, the selection criteria can specify that thethreshold level of relevance for image content items is met when theimage content items are associated with (e.g., provided by and/or taggedwith, etc.) the first user and a user with whom the first user is in arelationship, associated with a time period corresponding to the past 30days, and associated with a location corresponding to San Francisco,Calif. In a further example, the selection criteria can specify that thethreshold level of relevance for image content items is met when theimage content items are associated with dogs, which can be determinedbased on image classification and/or other relevant data (e.g., tags,comments, likes, etc.). As such, when the first user accesses his or herown media content items, the first user can be presented with the mostrelevant content, which can be updated dynamically. Numerous variationsare possible.

In some implementations, the selection criteria and/or the thresholdlevel of relevance can be set by the first user. In some embodiments,the selection criteria and/or the threshold level of relevance can bedetermined for the first user based on social graph data associated withthe first user, such as based on patterns or trends indicative of whattypes of content items the first user likely wants to provide, post,and/or access.

In some cases, the first user and the second user can be different usersof the social networking system and can be directly connected in thesocial networking system. The direct connection module 206 candynamically adjust the selection criteria accordingly to specify thateach media content item in the first subset should be associated withboth the first user and the second user. For example, each media contentitem in the first subset can correspond to at least one of a mediacontent item provided by the first user and that has a tag of the seconduser, a media content item provided by the second user and that has atag of the first user, or a media content item that has the tag of thefirst user and the tag of the second user.

In one example, the second user can be a social connection or friend ofthe first user within the social networking system. Assuming that thefirst user's privacy settings so allow, when the second user attempts toaccess at least some of the media content items associated with thefirst user, the direction connection module 206 can present the seconduser with the first subset of media content. In this example, mediacontent items in the first subset are selected to not only be associatedwith the first user, but also with the second user.

In some instances, the first user and the second user can be differentusers of the social networking system and can be indirectly connectedvia at least one common connection in the social networking system. Theindirect connection module 208 can dynamically adjust the selectioncriteria accordingly to specify that each media content item in thefirst subset should be associated with both the first user and the atleast one common connection. For example, each media content item in thefirst subset can correspond to at least one of a media content itemprovided by the first user and that has a tag of the at least one commonconnection, a media content item provided by the at least one commonconnection and that has a tag of the first user, or a media content itemthat has the tag of the first user and the tag of the at least onecommon connection.

In one example, the second user can be a friend of a friend of the firstuser within the social networking system. In other words, the seconduser and the first user may not be friends, but can have a mutualfriend. Assuming that the first user's privacy settings so allow, whenthe second user attempts to access at least some of the media contentitems associated with the first user, the indirection connection module208 can present the second user with the first subset of media contentitems. In this example, the first subset can be selected to includemedia content items that are associated with the first user and alsowith the mutual friend.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example social graph 300 associated with providingdynamically selected media content items, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. Social graph data can be acquired based on theexample social graph 300. As discussed, the social graph data can beutilized with various embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown,the example social graph 300 can include User A 302, User B 304, User C306, Image A 308, Image B 310, and Image C 312. It is understood thatthe example social graph 300 is provided for illustrative purposes. Manyvariations are possible.

In the example of FIG. 3, User A 302 is friends with User B 304. User B304 is friends with User C 306. However, User A 302 and User C 306 arenot friends within the social networking system, but have User B 304 asa mutual friend. In this example, User A 302 has been tagged in Image A308, such as by another user not explicitly shown in FIG. 3. In thisexample, User A 302 has uploaded Image B 310 and Image C 312. User A 302has also tagged User B 304 in Image B 310. Moreover, User A 302 hastagged himself or herself in Image C 312.

In one example, it is assumed that User A's privacy settings allow usersup to and including friends of friends to view User A's images, which isthe set of Image A 308, Image B 310, and Image C 312. In this example,when User B 304 tries to access User A's images, Image B 310 can beselected to be in a first subset of media content items to be providedto User B 304. This can be because Image B 310 is associated with bothUser A 302 and User B 304. As such, User B 304 can be provided withImage B 310 as a first priority. As User B 304 browses past Image B 310,Image A 308 and Image C 312 can be included as part of a second subsetof media content items to be provided to User B 304 at a lower priority.Moreover, when User C 306 tries to access User A's images, Image B 310can also be selected to be in a first subset of media content items tobe provided to User C 306. This can be because Image B 310 is associatedwith both User A 302 and the mutual friend (User B 304) of User A 302and User C 306. As such, User C 306 can be provided with Image B 310 asa first priority. As User C 306 further browses past Image B 310, ImageA 308 and Image C 312 can be included as part of a second subset ofmedia content items to be provided to User C 306 at a lower priority.

FIG. 4A illustrates an example screenshot 400 associated with providingdynamically selected media content items, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. The example screenshot 400 can include a mediaaccess interface 402 associated with a first user of a social networkingsystem, a representation 410 of a first subset of media content itemsassociated with the first user, and a representation 420 of a secondsubset of media content items associated with the first user.

As discussed above, it can be determined that a second user of thesocial networking system is attempting to access at least a portion of aset of media content items associated with the first user. The firstsubset of media content items can be dynamically selected out of the setof media content items. Each media content item selected to be includedin the first subset can satisfy specified selection criteria. The seconduser can be provided with access to the representation 410 of the firstsubset of media content items. The representation 410 of the firstsubset can be provided in the media access interface 402 associated withthe first user. In some cases, a representation of a respective subsetcan include a summary, a highlight, or a preview of the respectivesubset.

In some embodiments, it can be determined that at least a second subsetof media content items, out of the set of media content items, fails tosatisfy the specified selection criteria. It can be determined that theat least the second subset is accessible to the second user based on oneor more privacy settings of the first user. The second user can beprovided with access to the representation 420 of the second subset ofmedia content items. In some cases, the representation 410 of the firstsubset can be provided at a first position 412 in the media accessinterface. The representation 420 of the second subset can be providedat a second position 422 in the media access interface. The secondposition 422 can be lower in positional priority than the first position412. As shown in the example of FIG. 4A, the first position 412 for therepresentation 410 of the first subset can be vertically higher than thesecond position 422 for the representation 420 of the second subset.

Moreover, although not explicitly shown in FIG. 4A, in some embodiments,it can be determined that at least a third subset of media contentitems, out of the set of media content items, fails to satisfy thespecified selection criteria. It can be determined that the at least thethird subset is accessible to the second user based on the one or moreprivacy settings of the first user. The second user can be provided withaccess to a representation of the third subset of media content items.In some cases, the representation of the third subset can be provided ata third position in the media access interface. The third position canbe lower in positional priority than the second position 422.

Although the third subset and its representation are not explicitlyshown in the example of FIG. 4A, the second position 422 for the secondsubset can be vertically higher than the third position for the thirdsubset when the second subset is associated with a more recent timeframe than the third subset.

In some embodiments, each of the second subset and the third subset isassociated with at least one of a story, a post, an event, or an album.

Furthermore, in the example of FIG. 4A, the first user and the seconduser can correspond to the same user (e.g., a single user, User A). Assuch, a title bar for the media access interface 402 can include a titlestating “My Photos”.

FIG. 4B illustrates an example screenshot 450 associated with providingdynamically selected media content items, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. The example screenshot 450 can include the mediaaccess interface 402 of FIG. 4A.

In some embodiments, a vertical scroll element 452 can be provided fornavigating among at least the representation 410 of the first subset,the representation 420 of the second subset, the representation of thethird subset (not explicitly shown), and so forth. In some instances, afirst scroll element position 454 in the vertical scroll element 452 cancorrespond to the first position 412 in the media access interface, asecond scroll element position in the vertical scroll element cancorrespond to the second position 422 in the media access interface, anda third scroll element position in the vertical scroll element cancorrespond to the third position in the media access interface, and soforth.

Moreover, in some implementations, a first title 456 can be provided anddisplayed, for the first subset, at the first scroll element position454, while a second title can be provided and displayed, for the secondsubset, at the second scroll element position, and a third title can beprovided and displayed, for the third subset, at the third scrollelement position, and so forth.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example screenshot 500 associated with providingdynamically selected media content items, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. The example screenshot 500 can include anexample media access interface 502, which can be associated with themedia access interface 402 of FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B.

In some embodiments, an interaction initiated by the second user withrespect to the representation of the first subset can be received. Itcan be determined that an entirety of the first subset is accessible tothe second user based on one or more privacy settings of the first user.The second user can be provided with access to the entirety of the firstsubset subsequent to the receiving of the interaction. As shown in FIG.5, the entirety of the first subset can include information 504 providedabout the first subset as well as enlarged versions (e.g., image 506,image 508, etc.) of media content items in the first subset.

In some instances, the information 504 about the first subset caninclude, but is not limited to, at least one of a set of time framesassociated with the first subset, a set of users associated with thefirst subset, or a set of locations associated with the first subset.

Similar to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, in the example of FIG. 5, the first userand the second user can correspond to the same user (e.g., a singleuser, User A). As such, a title bar for the media access interface 502can include a title stating “My Photos”.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example screenshot 600 associated with providingdynamically selected media content items, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. The example screenshot 600 can include anexample media access interface 602 associated with a first user. Unlikeprevious examples, in the example of FIG. 6, the first user cancorrespond to User B and a second user can correspond to User A. Assuch, in this example, User A is attempting to access media contentitems associated with User B and the title of User B's media accessinterface 602 states “User B's Photos”. Moreover, the example mediaaccess interface 602 can provide a representation 604 of a first subsetof media content items associated with the first user (e.g., User B) anda representation 606 of a second subset of media content itemsassociated with the first user.

In this example, the first and second users (User A and User B) arefriends and thus connected in the social networking system. As such, thefirst subset of media content items can include media content itemsassociated with both the first user and the second user. Therepresentation 604 of the first subset of media content items can bepresented in a higher positional priority than that of therepresentation 606 of the second subset. In some embodiments, therepresentation of the second subset (as well as a third subset, a fourthsubset, etc.) can be presented in chronological order, from most recentto least recent.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example screenshot 700 associated with providingdynamically selected media content items, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 7, the first user cancorrespond to User B and the second user can correspond to User A. UserA can be friends with User B, but not friends with User C. User C canalso be friends with User B. As such, User B is a mutual friend of UserA and User C. In this example, User C can correspond to a third user ofthe social networking system.

In some embodiments, it can be determined that the second user (User A)is attempting to interact with the third user (User C), who can beincluded in a set of users associated with the first subset of the firstuser (User B). A media access interface 702 associated with the thirduser can be provided to the second user. A first subset (e.g.,associated with a representation 704) of media content items of thethird user can include images associated with both the third user andthe first user, since the second user is not friends with the thirduser. Also, a representation 706 of a second subset of the third usercan be presented in a lower positional priority than the representation704 of the first subset of the third user.

Moreover, in some embodiments, a graphical element 708 can be providedto navigate to a first time frame (e.g., Oct. 31, 2013 in FIG. 6) in aset of time frames associated with the first subset of the first user. Asecond time frame (e.g., October 2013 in graphical element 704) in themedia access interface 702 associated with the third user can benavigated to. The second time frame can be within an allowable timedeviation from the first time frame (e.g., both within the same month).

FIG. 8 illustrates an example method 800 associated with providingdynamically selected media content items, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. It should be appreciated that there can beadditional, fewer, or alternative steps performed in similar oralternative orders, or in parallel, within the scope of the variousembodiments unless otherwise stated.

At block 802, the example method 800 can identify a set of media contentitems associated with a first user of a social networking system. Atblock 804, the example method 800 can determine that a second user ofthe social networking system is attempting to access at least a portionof the set of media content items associated with the first user. Atblock 806, the example method 800 can dynamically select a first subsetof media content items out of the set of media content items. In somecases, each media content item in the first subset can satisfy specifiedselection criteria. At block 808, the example method 800 can provide thesecond user with access to a representation of the first subset of mediacontent items. In some cases, the representation of the first subset canbe provided in a media access interface associated with the first user.

In some embodiments, the media access interface can correspond to abrowsing interface for accessing media based on social graph data. Themedia access interface can allow for navigation of media content basedon relationships between media content items, people, time, and/orplaces.

In some embodiments, the media access interface can be initiated via alauncher, shortcut, and/or icon on a desktop screen or home screen of acomputing device. In some embodiments, the media access interface canreplace an image section of a profile or timeline in the socialnetworking system. In some embodiments, the media access interface canbe implemented as an application or software, such as a mobile app.

In some embodiments, the media access interface can provide one or moreoptions to filter media content items. For example, there can be one ormore options to present a user's photo stories, the user's photo albums,and/or photos of the user.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, a map can be provided in the mediaaccess interface associated with the first user. A location associatedwith at least one media content item in the first subset can bedetermined. The location can be provided on the map.

Again, it is contemplated that there can be many other uses,applications, and/or variations associated with the various embodimentsof the present disclosure. For example, various embodiments of thepresent disclosure can learn, improve, and/or be refined over time.

Social Networking System—Example Implementation

FIG. 9 illustrates a network diagram of an example system 900 that canbe utilized in various embodiments for enhanced video encoding, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The system 900includes one or more user devices 910, one or more external systems 920,a social networking system (or service) 930, and a network 950. In anembodiment, the social networking service, provider, and/or systemdiscussed in connection with the embodiments described above may beimplemented as the social networking system 930. For purposes ofillustration, the embodiment of the system 900, shown by FIG. 9,includes a single external system 920 and a single user device 910.However, in other embodiments, the system 900 may include more userdevices 910 and/or more external systems 920. In certain embodiments,the social networking system 930 is operated by a social networkprovider, whereas the external systems 920 are separate from the socialnetworking system 930 in that they may be operated by differententities. In various embodiments, however, the social networking system930 and the external systems 920 operate in conjunction to providesocial networking services to users (or members) of the socialnetworking system 930. In this sense, the social networking system 930provides a platform or backbone, which other systems, such as externalsystems 920, may use to provide social networking services andfunctionalities to users across the Internet.

The user device 910 comprises one or more computing devices that canreceive input from a user and transmit and receive data via the network950. In one embodiment, the user device 910 is a conventional computersystem executing, for example, a Microsoft Windows compatible operatingsystem (OS), Apple OS X, and/or a Linux distribution. In anotherembodiment, the user device 910 can be a device having computerfunctionality, such as a smart-phone, a tablet, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, etc. The user device 910 isconfigured to communicate via the network 950. The user device 910 canexecute an application, for example, a browser application that allows auser of the user device 910 to interact with the social networkingsystem 930. In another embodiment, the user device 910 interacts withthe social networking system 930 through an application programminginterface (API) provided by the native operating system of the userdevice 910, such as iOS and ANDROID. The user device 910 is configuredto communicate with the external system 920 and the social networkingsystem 930 via the network 950, which may comprise any combination oflocal area and/or wide area networks, using wired and/or wirelesscommunication systems.

In one embodiment, the network 950 uses standard communicationstechnologies and protocols. Thus, the network 950 can include linksusing technologies such as Ethernet, 702.11, worldwide interoperabilityfor microwave access (WiMAX), 3G, 4G, CDMA, GSM, LTE, digital subscriberline (DSL), etc. Similarly, the networking protocols used on the network950 can include multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), transmissioncontrol protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), User Datagram Protocol(UDP), hypertext transport protocol (HTTP), simple mail transferprotocol (SMTP), file transfer protocol (FTP), and the like. The dataexchanged over the network 950 can be represented using technologiesand/or formats including hypertext markup language (HTML) and extensiblemarkup language (XML). In addition, all or some links can be encryptedusing conventional encryption technologies such as secure sockets layer(SSL), transport layer security (TLS), and Internet Protocol security(IPsec).

In one embodiment, the user device 910 may display content from theexternal system 920 and/or from the social networking system 930 byprocessing a markup language document 914 received from the externalsystem 920 and from the social networking system 930 using a browserapplication 912. The markup language document 914 identifies content andone or more instructions describing formatting or presentation of thecontent. By executing the instructions included in the markup languagedocument 914, the browser application 912 displays the identifiedcontent using the format or presentation described by the markuplanguage document 914. For example, the markup language document 914includes instructions for generating and displaying a web page havingmultiple frames that include text and/or image data retrieved from theexternal system 920 and the social networking system 930. In variousembodiments, the markup language document 914 comprises a data fileincluding extensible markup language (XML) data, extensible hypertextmarkup language (XHTML) data, or other markup language data.Additionally, the markup language document 914 may include JavaScriptObject Notation (JSON) data, JSON with padding (JSONP), and JavaScriptdata to facilitate data-interchange between the external system 920 andthe user device 910. The browser application 912 on the user device 910may use a JavaScript compiler to decode the markup language document914.

The markup language document 914 may also include, or link to,applications or application frameworks such as FLASH™ or Unity™applications, the SilverLight™ application framework, etc.

In one embodiment, the user device 910 also includes one or more cookies916 including data indicating whether a user of the user device 910 islogged into the social networking system 930, which may enablemodification of the data communicated from the social networking system930 to the user device 910.

The external system 920 includes one or more web servers that includeone or more web pages 922 a, 922 b, which are communicated to the userdevice 910 using the network 950. The external system 920 is separatefrom the social networking system 930. For example, the external system920 is associated with a first domain, while the social networkingsystem 930 is associated with a separate social networking domain. Webpages 922 a, 922 b, included in the external system 920, comprise markuplanguage documents 914 identifying content and including instructionsspecifying formatting or presentation of the identified content.

The social networking system 930 includes one or more computing devicesfor a social network, including a plurality of users, and providingusers of the social network with the ability to communicate and interactwith other users of the social network. In some instances, the socialnetwork can be represented by a graph, i.e., a data structure includingedges and nodes. Other data structures can also be used to represent thesocial network, including but not limited to databases, objects,classes, meta elements, files, or any other data structure. The socialnetworking system 930 may be administered, managed, or controlled by anoperator. The operator of the social networking system 930 may be ahuman being, an automated application, or a series of applications formanaging content, regulating policies, and collecting usage metricswithin the social networking system 930. Any type of operator may beused.

Users may join the social networking system 930 and then add connectionsto any number of other users of the social networking system 930 to whomthey desire to be connected. As used herein, the term “friend” refers toany other user of the social networking system 930 to whom a user hasformed a connection, association, or relationship via the socialnetworking system 930. For example, in an embodiment, if users in thesocial networking system 930 are represented as nodes in the socialgraph, the term “friend” can refer to an edge formed between anddirectly connecting two user nodes.

Connections may be added explicitly by a user or may be automaticallycreated by the social networking system 930 based on commoncharacteristics of the users (e.g., users who are alumni of the sameeducational institution). For example, a first user specifically selectsa particular other user to be a friend. Connections in the socialnetworking system 930 are usually in both directions, but need not be,so the terms “user” and “friend” depend on the frame of reference.Connections between users of the social networking system 930 areusually bilateral (“two-way”), or “mutual,” but connections may also beunilateral, or “one-way.” For example, if Bob and Joe are both users ofthe social networking system 930 and connected to each other, Bob andJoe are each other's connections. If, on the other hand, Bob wishes toconnect to Joe to view data communicated to the social networking system930 by Joe, but Joe does not wish to form a mutual connection, aunilateral connection may be established. The connection between usersmay be a direct connection; however, some embodiments of the socialnetworking system 930 allow the connection to be indirect via one ormore levels of connections or degrees of separation.

In addition to establishing and maintaining connections between usersand allowing interactions between users, the social networking system930 provides users with the ability to take actions on various types ofitems supported by the social networking system 930. These items mayinclude groups or networks (i.e., social networks of people, entities,and concepts) to which users of the social networking system 930 maybelong, events or calendar entries in which a user might be interested,computer-based applications that a user may use via the socialnetworking system 930, transactions that allow users to buy or sellitems via services provided by or through the social networking system930, and interactions with advertisements that a user may perform on oroff the social networking system 930. These are just a few examples ofthe items upon which a user may act on the social networking system 930,and many others are possible. A user may interact with anything that iscapable of being represented in the social networking system 930 or inthe external system 920, separate from the social networking system 930,or coupled to the social networking system 930 via the network 950.

The social networking system 930 is also capable of linking a variety ofentities. For example, the social networking system 930 enables users tointeract with each other as well as external systems 920 or otherentities through an API, a web service, or other communication channels.The social networking system 930 generates and maintains the “socialgraph” comprising a plurality of nodes interconnected by a plurality ofedges. Each node in the social graph may represent an entity that canact on another node and/or that can be acted on by another node. Thesocial graph may include various types of nodes. Examples of types ofnodes include users, non-person entities, content items, web pages,groups, activities, messages, concepts, and any other things that can berepresented by an object in the social networking system 930. An edgebetween two nodes in the social graph may represent a particular kind ofconnection, or association, between the two nodes, which may result fromnode relationships or from an action that was performed by one of thenodes on the other node. In some cases, the edges between nodes can beweighted. The weight of an edge can represent an attribute associatedwith the edge, such as a strength of the connection or associationbetween nodes. Different types of edges can be provided with differentweights. For example, an edge created when one user “likes” another usermay be given one weight, while an edge created when a user befriendsanother user may be given a different weight.

As an example, when a first user identifies a second user as a friend,an edge in the social graph is generated connecting a node representingthe first user and a second node representing the second user. Asvarious nodes relate or interact with each other, the social networkingsystem 930 modifies edges connecting the various nodes to reflect therelationships and interactions.

The social networking system 930 also includes user-generated content,which enhances a user's interactions with the social networking system930. User-generated content may include anything a user can add, upload,send, or “post” to the social networking system 930. For example, a usercommunicates posts to the social networking system 930 from a userdevice 910. Posts may include data such as status updates or othertextual data, location information, images such as photos, videos,links, music or other similar data and/or media. Content may also beadded to the social networking system 930 by a third party. Content“items” are represented as objects in the social networking system 930.In this way, users of the social networking system 930 are encouraged tocommunicate with each other by posting text and content items of varioustypes of media through various communication channels. Suchcommunication increases the interaction of users with each other andincreases the frequency with which users interact with the socialnetworking system 930.

The social networking system 930 includes a web server 932, an APIrequest server 934, a user profile store 936, a connection store 938, anaction logger 940, an activity log 942, and an authorization server 944.In an embodiment of the invention, the social networking system 930 mayinclude additional, fewer, or different components for variousapplications. Other components, such as network interfaces, securitymechanisms, load balancers, failover servers, management and networkoperations consoles, and the like are not shown so as to not obscure thedetails of the system.

The user profile store 936 maintains information about user accounts,including biographic, demographic, and other types of descriptiveinformation, such as work experience, educational history, hobbies orpreferences, location, and the like that has been declared by users orinferred by the social networking system 930. This information is storedin the user profile store 936 such that each user is uniquelyidentified. The social networking system 930 also stores data describingone or more connections between different users in the connection store938. The connection information may indicate users who have similar orcommon work experience, group memberships, hobbies, or educationalhistory. Additionally, the social networking system 930 includesuser-defined connections between different users, allowing users tospecify their relationships with other users. For example, user-definedconnections allow users to generate relationships with other users thatparallel the users' real-life relationships, such as friends,co-workers, partners, and so forth. Users may select from predefinedtypes of connections, or define their own connection types as needed.Connections with other nodes in the social networking system 930, suchas non-person entities, buckets, cluster centers, images, interests,pages, external systems, concepts, and the like are also stored in theconnection store 938.

The social networking system 930 maintains data about objects with whicha user may interact. To maintain this data, the user profile store 936and the connection store 938 store instances of the corresponding typeof objects maintained by the social networking system 930. Each objecttype has information fields that are suitable for storing informationappropriate to the type of object. For example, the user profile store936 contains data structures with fields suitable for describing auser's account and information related to a user's account. When a newobject of a particular type is created, the social networking system 930initializes a new data structure of the corresponding type, assigns aunique object identifier to it, and begins to add data to the object asneeded. This might occur, for example, when a user becomes a user of thesocial networking system 930, the social networking system 930 generatesa new instance of a user profile in the user profile store 936, assignsa unique identifier to the user account, and begins to populate thefields of the user account with information provided by the user.

The connection store 938 includes data structures suitable fordescribing a user's connections to other users, connections to externalsystems 920 or connections to other entities. The connection store 938may also associate a connection type with a user's connections, whichmay be used in conjunction with the user's privacy setting to regulateaccess to information about the user. In an embodiment of the invention,the user profile store 936 and the connection store 938 may beimplemented as a federated database.

Data stored in the connection store 938, the user profile store 936, andthe activity log 942 enables the social networking system 930 togenerate the social graph that uses nodes to identify various objectsand edges connecting nodes to identify relationships between differentobjects. For example, if a first user establishes a connection with asecond user in the social networking system 930, user accounts of thefirst user and the second user from the user profile store 936 may actas nodes in the social graph. The connection between the first user andthe second user stored by the connection store 938 is an edge betweenthe nodes associated with the first user and the second user. Continuingthis example, the second user may then send the first user a messagewithin the social networking system 930. The action of sending themessage, which may be stored, is another edge between the two nodes inthe social graph representing the first user and the second user.Additionally, the message itself may be identified and included in thesocial graph as another node connected to the nodes representing thefirst user and the second user.

In another example, a first user may tag a second user in an image thatis maintained by the social networking system 930 (or, alternatively, inan image maintained by another system outside of the social networkingsystem 930). The image may itself be represented as a node in the socialnetworking system 930. This tagging action may create edges between thefirst user and the second user as well as create an edge between each ofthe users and the image, which is also a node in the social graph. Inyet another example, if a user confirms attending an event, the user andthe event are nodes obtained from the user profile store 936, where theattendance of the event is an edge between the nodes that may beretrieved from the activity log 942. By generating and maintaining thesocial graph, the social networking system 930 includes data describingmany different types of objects and the interactions and connectionsamong those objects, providing a rich source of socially relevantinformation.

The web server 932 links the social networking system 930 to one or moreuser devices 910 and/or one or more external systems 920 via the network950. The web server 932 serves web pages, as well as other web-relatedcontent, such as Java, JavaScript, Flash, XML, and so forth. The webserver 932 may include a mail server or other messaging functionalityfor receiving and routing messages between the social networking system930 and one or more user devices 910. The messages can be instantmessages, queued messages (e.g., email), text and SMS messages, or anyother suitable messaging format.

The API request server 934 allows one or more external systems 920 anduser devices 910 to call access information from the social networkingsystem 930 by calling one or more API functions. The API request server934 may also allow external systems 920 to send information to thesocial networking system 930 by calling APIs. The external system 920,in one embodiment, sends an API request to the social networking system930 via the network 950, and the API request server 934 receives the APIrequest. The API request server 934 processes the request by calling anAPI associated with the API request to generate an appropriate response,which the API request server 934 communicates to the external system 920via the network 950. For example, responsive to an API request, the APIrequest server 934 collects data associated with a user, such as theuser's connections that have logged into the external system 920, andcommunicates the collected data to the external system 920. In anotherembodiment, the user device 910 communicates with the social networkingsystem 930 via APIs in the same manner as external systems 920.

The action logger 940 is capable of receiving communications from theweb server 932 about user actions on and/or off the social networkingsystem 930. The action logger 940 populates the activity log 942 withinformation about user actions, enabling the social networking system930 to discover various actions taken by its users within the socialnetworking system 930 and outside of the social networking system 930.Any action that a particular user takes with respect to another node onthe social networking system 930 may be associated with each user'saccount, through information maintained in the activity log 942 or in asimilar database or other data repository. Examples of actions taken bya user within the social networking system 930 that are identified andstored may include, for example, adding a connection to another user,sending a message to another user, reading a message from another user,viewing content associated with another user, attending an event postedby another user, posting an image, attempting to post an image, or otheractions interacting with another user or another object. When a usertakes an action within the social networking system 930, the action isrecorded in the activity log 942. In one embodiment, the socialnetworking system 930 maintains the activity log 942 as a database ofentries. When an action is taken within the social networking system930, an entry for the action is added to the activity log 942. Theactivity log 942 may be referred to as an action log.

Additionally, user actions may be associated with concepts and actionsthat occur within an entity outside of the social networking system 930,such as an external system 920 that is separate from the socialnetworking system 930. For example, the action logger 940 may receivedata describing a user's interaction with an external system 920 fromthe web server 932. In this example, the external system 920 reports auser's interaction according to structured actions and objects in thesocial graph.

Other examples of actions where a user interacts with an external system920 include a user expressing an interest in an external system 920 oranother entity, a user posting a comment to the social networking system930 that discusses an external system 920 or a web page 922 a within theexternal system 920, a user posting to the social networking system 930a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or other identifier associated with anexternal system 920, a user attending an event associated with anexternal system 920, or any other action by a user that is related to anexternal system 920. Thus, the activity log 942 may include actionsdescribing interactions between a user of the social networking system930 and an external system 920 that is separate from the socialnetworking system 930.

The authorization server 944 enforces one or more privacy settings ofthe users of the social networking system 930. A privacy setting of auser determines how particular information associated with a user can beshared. The privacy setting comprises the specification of particularinformation associated with a user and the specification of the entityor entities with whom the information can be shared. Examples ofentities with which information can be shared may include other users,applications, external systems 920, or any entity that can potentiallyaccess the information. The information that can be shared by a usercomprises user account information, such as profile photos, phonenumbers associated with the user, user's connections, actions taken bythe user such as adding a connection, changing user profile information,and the like.

The privacy setting specification may be provided at different levels ofgranularity. For example, the privacy setting may identify specificinformation to be shared with other users; the privacy settingidentifies a work phone number or a specific set of related information,such as, personal information including profile photo, home phonenumber, and status. Alternatively, the privacy setting may apply to allthe information associated with the user. The specification of the setof entities that can access particular information can also be specifiedat various levels of granularity. Various sets of entities with whichinformation can be shared may include, for example, all friends of theuser, all friends of friends, all applications, or all external systems920. One embodiment allows the specification of the set of entities tocomprise an enumeration of entities. For example, the user may provide alist of external systems 920 that are allowed to access certaininformation. Another embodiment allows the specification to comprise aset of entities along with exceptions that are not allowed to access theinformation. For example, a user may allow all external systems 920 toaccess the user's work information, but specify a list of externalsystems 920 that are not allowed to access the work information. Certainembodiments call the list of exceptions that are not allowed to accesscertain information a “block list”. External systems 920 belonging to ablock list specified by a user are blocked from accessing theinformation specified in the privacy setting. Various combinations ofgranularity of specification of information, and granularity ofspecification of entities, with which information is shared arepossible. For example, all personal information may be shared withfriends whereas all work information may be shared with friends offriends.

The authorization server 944 contains logic to determine if certaininformation associated with a user can be accessed by a user's friends,external systems 920, and/or other applications and entities. Theexternal system 920 may need authorization from the authorization server944 to access the user's more private and sensitive information, such asthe user's work phone number. Based on the user's privacy settings, theauthorization server 944 determines if another user, the external system920, an application, or another entity is allowed to access informationassociated with the user, including information about actions taken bythe user.

In some embodiments, the social networking system 930 can include acontent access module 946. The content access module 946 can, forexample, be implemented as the content access module 102 of FIG. 1. Thecontent access module 946 can be configured to facilitate identifying aset of media content items associated with a first user of a socialnetworking system. The content access module 946 can be configured tofacilitate determining that a second user of the social networkingsystem is attempting to access at least a portion of the set of mediacontent items associated with the first user. The content access module946 can also be configured to facilitate dynamically selecting a firstsubset of media content items out of the set of media content items. Insome cases, each media content item in the first subset can satisfyspecified selection criteria. The content access module 946 can furtherbe configured to facilitate providing the second user with access to arepresentation of the first subset of media content items. In someinstances, the representation of the first subset can be provided in amedia access interface associated with the first user. It is understoodthat many variations are possible.

Hardware Implementation

The foregoing processes and features can be implemented by a widevariety of machine and computer system architectures and in a widevariety of network and computing environments. FIG. 10 illustrates anexample of a computer system 1000 that may be used to implement one ormore of the embodiments described herein in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. The computer system 1000 includes sets ofinstructions for causing the computer system 1000 to perform theprocesses and features discussed herein. The computer system 1000 may beconnected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the computer system 1000 may operate in the capacity of aserver machine or a client machine in a client-server networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. In an embodiment of the invention, the computersystem 1000 may be the social networking system 1030, the user device910, and the external system 1020, or a component thereof. In anembodiment of the invention, the computer system 1000 may be one serveramong many that constitutes all or part of the social networking system1030.

The computer system 1000 includes a processor 1002, a cache 1004, andone or more executable modules and drivers, stored on acomputer-readable medium, directed to the processes and featuresdescribed herein. Additionally, the computer system 1000 includes a highperformance input/output (I/O) bus 1006 and a standard I/O bus 1008. Ahost bridge 1010 couples processor 1002 to high performance I/O bus1006, whereas I/O bus bridge 1012 couples the two buses 1006 and 1008 toeach other. A system memory 1014 and one or more network interfaces 1016couple to high performance I/O bus 1006. The computer system 1000 mayfurther include video memory and a display device coupled to the videomemory (not shown). Mass storage 1018 and I/O ports 1020 couple to thestandard I/O bus 1008. The computer system 1000 may optionally include akeyboard and pointing device, a display device, or other input/outputdevices (not shown) coupled to the standard I/O bus 1008. Collectively,these elements are intended to represent a broad category of computerhardware systems, including but not limited to computer systems based onthe x86-compatible processors manufactured by Intel Corporation of SantaClara, Calif., and the x86-compatible processors manufactured byAdvanced Micro Devices (AMD), Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., as well as anyother suitable processor.

An operating system manages and controls the operation of the computersystem 1000, including the input and output of data to and from softwareapplications (not shown). The operating system provides an interfacebetween the software applications being executed on the system and thehardware components of the system. Any suitable operating system may beused, such as the LINUX Operating System, the Apple Macintosh OperatingSystem, available from Apple Computer Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., UNIXoperating systems, Microsoft® Windows® operating systems, BSD operatingsystems, and the like. Other implementations are possible.

The elements of the computer system 1000 are described in greater detailbelow. In particular, the network interface 1016 provides communicationbetween the computer system 1000 and any of a wide range of networks,such as an Ethernet (e.g., IEEE 802.3) network, a backplane, etc. Themass storage 1018 provides permanent storage for the data andprogramming instructions to perform the above-described processes andfeatures implemented by the respective computing systems identifiedabove, whereas the system memory 1014 (e.g., DRAM) provides temporarystorage for the data and programming instructions when executed by theprocessor 1002. The I/O ports 1020 may be one or more serial and/orparallel communication ports that provide communication betweenadditional peripheral devices, which may be coupled to the computersystem 1000.

The computer system 1000 may include a variety of system architectures,and various components of the computer system 1000 may be rearranged.For example, the cache 1004 may be on-chip with processor 1002.Alternatively, the cache 1004 and the processor 1002 may be packedtogether as a “processor module”, with processor 1002 being referred toas the “processor core”. Furthermore, certain embodiments of theinvention may neither require nor include all of the above components.For example, peripheral devices coupled to the standard I/O bus 1008 maycouple to the high performance I/O bus 1006. In addition, in someembodiments, only a single bus may exist, with the components of thecomputer system 1000 being coupled to the single bus. Moreover, thecomputer system 1000 may include additional components, such asadditional processors, storage devices, or memories.

In general, the processes and features described herein may beimplemented as part of an operating system or a specific application,component, program, object, module, or series of instructions referredto as “programs”. For example, one or more programs may be used toexecute specific processes described herein. The programs typicallycomprise one or more instructions in various memory and storage devicesin the computer system 1000 that, when read and executed by one or moreprocessors, cause the computer system 1000 to perform operations toexecute the processes and features described herein. The processes andfeatures described herein may be implemented in software, firmware,hardware (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit), or anycombination thereof.

In one implementation, the processes and features described herein areimplemented as a series of executable modules run by the computer system1000, individually or collectively in a distributed computingenvironment. The foregoing modules may be realized by hardware,executable modules stored on a computer-readable medium (ormachine-readable medium), or a combination of both. For example, themodules may comprise a plurality or series of instructions to beexecuted by a processor in a hardware system, such as the processor1002. Initially, the series of instructions may be stored on a storagedevice, such as the mass storage 1018. However, the series ofinstructions can be stored on any suitable computer readable storagemedium. Furthermore, the series of instructions need not be storedlocally, and could be received from a remote storage device, such as aserver on a network, via the network interface 1016. The instructionsare copied from the storage device, such as the mass storage 1018, intothe system memory 1014 and then accessed and executed by the processor1002. In various implementations, a module or modules can be executed bya processor or multiple processors in one or multiple locations, such asmultiple servers in a parallel processing environment.

Examples of computer-readable media include, but are not limited to,recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memory devices;solid state memories; floppy and other removable disks; hard diskdrives; magnetic media; optical disks (e.g., Compact Disk Read-OnlyMemory (CD ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs)); other similarnon-transitory (or transitory), tangible (or non-tangible) storagemedium; or any type of medium suitable for storing, encoding, orcarrying a series of instructions for execution by the computer system1000 to perform any one or more of the processes and features describedherein.

For purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the description. It will beapparent, however, to one skilled in the art that embodiments of thedisclosure can be practiced without these specific details. In someinstances, modules, structures, processes, features, and devices areshown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the description.In other instances, functional block diagrams and flow diagrams areshown to represent data and logic flows. The components of blockdiagrams and flow diagrams (e.g., modules, blocks, structures, devices,features, etc.) may be variously combined, separated, removed,reordered, and replaced in a manner other than as expressly describedand depicted herein.

Reference in this specification to one embodiment“, an embodiment”,“other embodiments”, one series of embodiments“, some embodiments”,“various embodiments”, or the like means that a particular feature,design, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. Theappearances of, for example, the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in anembodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarilyall referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternativeembodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, whetheror not there is express reference to an “embodiment” or the like,various features are described, which may be variously combined andincluded in some embodiments, but also variously omitted in otherembodiments. Similarly, various features are described that may bepreferences or requirements for some embodiments, but not otherembodiments.

The language used herein has been principally selected for readabilityand instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected todelineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is thereforeintended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detaileddescription, but rather by any claims that issue on an application basedhereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of the inventionis intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of theinvention, which is set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:identifying, by a computing system, a set of media content itemsassociated with a first user; determining, by the computing system, thata second user is attempting to access at least a portion of the set ofmedia content items associated with the first user; dynamicallyselecting, by the computing system, a first subset of media contentitems out of the set of media content items, each media content item inthe first subset satisfying specified selection criteria; and providing,by the computing system, the second user with access to a representationof the first subset of media content items, the representation of thefirst subset being provided in a media access interface associated withthe first user.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining that at least a second subset of media contentitems, out of the set of media content items, fails to satisfy thespecified selection criteria; determining that the at least the secondsubset is accessible to the second user based on one or more privacysettings of the first user; and providing the second user with access toa representation of the second subset of media content items, whereinthe representation of the first subset is provided at a first positionin the media access interface associated with the first user, whereinthe representation of the second subset is provided at a second positionin the media access interface, and wherein the second position is lowerin positional priority than the first position.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising: determiningthat at least a third subset of media content items, out of the set ofmedia content items, fails to satisfy the specified selection criteria;determining that the at least the third subset is accessible to thesecond user based on the one or more privacy settings of the first user;and providing the second user with access to a representation of thethird subset of media content items, wherein the representation of thethird subset is provided at a third position in the media accessinterface, wherein the third position is lower in positional prioritythan the second position.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3,wherein each of the second subset and the third subset is associatedwith at least one of a story, a post, an event, or an album.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the first position isvertically higher than the second position, wherein the second positionis vertically higher than the third position, and wherein the secondsubset is associated with a more recent time frame than the thirdsubset.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, furthercomprising: providing a vertical scroll element for navigating among atleast the representation of the first subset, the representation of thesecond subset, and the representation of the third subset, wherein afirst scroll element position in the vertical scroll element correspondsto the first position in the media access interface, wherein a secondscroll element position in the vertical scroll element corresponds tothe second position in the media access interface, and wherein a thirdscroll element position in the vertical scroll element corresponds tothe third position in the media access interface; providing a firsttitle, for the first subset, at the first scroll element position;providing a second title, for the second subset, at the second scrollelement position; and providing a third title, for the third subset, atthe third scroll element position.
 7. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, further comprising: acquiring information about at least one ofthe first user, the second user, or the set of media content items,wherein the information includes at least one of an image classificationapplied to at least a portion of the first subset or social graph dataassociated with the at least one of the first user, the second user, orthe set of media content items, and wherein the selection criteria isbased on the information.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving an interaction initiated by the seconduser with respect to the representation of the first subset; anddetermining that an entirety of the first subset is accessible to thesecond user based on one or more privacy settings of the first user; andproviding the second user with access to the entirety of the firstsubset subsequent to the receiving of the interaction; and providinginformation about the first subset, the information including at leastone of a set of time frames associated with the first subset, a set ofusers associated with the first subset, or a set of locations associatedwith the first subset.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8,further comprising: providing a map in the media access interfaceassociated with the first user; determining a location associated withat least one media content item in the first subset; and providing thelocation on the map.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,wherein the first user and the second user are a same user, and whereinthe selection criteria specify that each media content item in the firstsubset is to at least meet a threshold level of relevance with respectto the first user.
 11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10,wherein the threshold level of relevance is determined based on at leastone of a relationship of the first user, a connection of the first user,an interest of the first user, an event associated with the first user,an interaction associated with the first user, or a post provided by thefirst user.
 12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein thefirst user and the second user are different users, wherein the firstuser and the second user have a direct social connection, and whereinthe selection criteria specify that each media content item in the firstsubset is to be associated with both the first user and the second user.13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein each mediacontent item in the first subset corresponds to at least one of a mediacontent item provided by the first user and that has a tag of the seconduser, a media content item provided by the second user and that has atag of the first user, or a media content item that has the tag of thefirst user and the tag of the second user.
 14. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein the first user and the second user aredifferent users, wherein the first user and the second user areindirectly connected via at least one common social connection, andwherein the selection criteria specify that each media content item inthe first subset is to be associated with both the first user and the atleast one common connection.
 15. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 14, wherein each media content item in the first subsetcorresponds to at least one of a media content item provided by thefirst user and that has a tag of the at least one common connection, amedia content item provided by the at least one common connection andthat has a tag of the first user, or a media content item that has thetag of the first user and the tag of the at least one common connection.16. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:providing information associated with the first subset, the informationincluding at least one a set of time frames associated with the firstsubset, a set of time locations associated with the first subset, or aset of users associated with the first subset.
 17. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 16, further comprising: determiningthat the second user is attempting to interact with a third user in theset of users associated with the first subset; and providing a mediaaccess interface associated with the third user.
 18. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 17, further comprising: providing agraphical element to navigate to a first time frame in the set of timeframes associated with the first subset; and navigating to a second timeframe in the media access interface associated with the third user, thesecond time frame being within an allowable time deviation from thefirst time frame.
 19. A system comprising: at least one processor; and amemory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the system to perform: identifying a set of mediacontent items associated with a first user; determining that a seconduser is attempting to access at least a portion of the set of mediacontent items associated with the first user; dynamically selecting afirst subset of media content items out of the set of media contentitems, each media content item in the first subset satisfying specifiedselection criteria; and providing the second user with access to arepresentation of the first subset of media content items, therepresentation of the first subset being provided in a media accessinterface associated with the first user.
 20. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium including instructions that, whenexecuted by at least one processor of a computing system, cause thecomputing system to perform a method comprising: identifying a set ofmedia content items associated with a first user; determining that asecond user is attempting to access at least a portion of the set ofmedia content items associated with the first user; dynamicallyselecting a first subset of media content items out of the set of mediacontent items, each media content item in the first subset satisfyingspecified selection criteria; and providing the second user with accessto a representation of the first subset of media content items, therepresentation of the first subset being provided in a media accessinterface associated with the first user.